Conversations at the Woodfair

To the Bentley Woodfair on Friday to meet the experts and have wood-related conversations. Here's a record of some of the things we learned and the people we met.

Managing sallows (Salix caprea)
We  met an understory expert who was weaving willow baskets. He advised that sallows are short-lived and need active management. Pollarding is ideal. The pollarded tree will send out shoots that grown c 3ft each year. These shoots should be harvested in rotation cutting every one or two years. The one year shoots can be used for pea sticks, the two year shoots for creating in situ rough hurdles or for dry hedging. Sallow shoots are not suitable for basket weaving (unlike osiers) as they have too many side shoots, which even if cut off will leave the main shoot weakened. Regular pollarding and harvesting of shoots will raise the light levels and create the diversity of ages of growth that butterflies need for food sources. So, we really need to get on with completing the pollarding of the willow grove, especially if we aim to attract the purple emperor back to its historic breeding ground.

Old Copse pines were planted in 1957
Falling in conversation with a dealer in edged tools from Eridge, he told us that his first job in 1957 was planting and caring for the pine plantation in Old Copse. He witnessed 7ft wide beech trees being cut down and dragged out of the wood to clear for the pine planting. More than 50 years later, he still remembers the sight and thought it was a shame. His job was to weed between the newly planted pines. He worked alone and never saw anyone from one week to the next, apart from the forester who arrived in his landrover to pay him his wages.  Must have been a lonely job.

Growing oyster mushrooms
Had a long chat with Richard Mansfield-Clark of www.rusticmushrooms.co.uk on cultivating mushrooms on logs. Unlike conventional wisdom (ie what I have learned from searching the Internet) he maintained:

• once mushroom impregnated dowels have been inserted into logs, there is no need to seal the dowel ends with wax. It doesn't provide much protection and is expensive.
• there is no need to put logs in a plastic bag. The important thing is to keep the logs damp. The best way to do this is to stand the logs on end, with the bottom ends buried c 6" in the ground. He showed me a picture of his mushroom logs standing upright, supported by a simple horizontal bar to stop them falling over
• once mushrooms have fruited, they will continue for the following two/three years

SWA or SWOG - what's the difference?
There is a lot of crossover in membership. Small Woods Association has been established longer and typically members have slightly larger woods. SWOG is sponsored and supported by woodlands.co.uk and reflects the interests of smaller woodland owners who are often newer wood owners.

Nice things to buy
Finally met a nice brother and sister selling all things fire-related at www.firemad.co.uk. Based in Horsham, we have invited them to the wood to see the log cabin. Might buy a lantern as well!

Local experts

To the wood today to meet Matthew Hutchings, local mushroom expert and author of local fungii identification website - www.mushrooms.org.uk. Although June is far from being the mushroom season, we looked at the different woodland types - the alderwood, the pines, the birch wood and discussed the what mushrooms are likely to be found in each area.The bay boletes favour the birchwood, and to a lesser extent the pine. Ceps are more likely to be found in areas of  mixed birch and beech woodland - which explain why the richest hunting areas for these is in the most diverse areas of our wood. Oyster mushrooms are found on old beech, often on old beech limbs which have dropped from the tree. These may well grow a crop of oyster mushrooms a year later as they decompose. Chicken-in-the-woods (Laetiporus Sulphureus)  is a bracket fungus found on mature oak, beech and cherry (must check out the cherry in next door's wood).

Then went in search of the grebes and the mandarin ducks to see how they were getting on after the heavy rains and high water of a couple of weeks ago. The female mandarin has been spotted, but the other four have not been seen. According to the fishermen the grebes' nest was washed away, but both grebes are still around and the female seems to be carrying something on her back - so maybe one chick survived. I met a fisherman who explained why the mandarins were unpopular with anglers. Smarter than mallards, mandarins have learned to recognise the sound of bait going into the water, and will immediately hurry over and dive for the bait when they hear the swish of the rods. To the fishermen's dismay, when mallards see the mandarins fishing for bait, they too have a go. Mallards are more buoyant than mandarins, and have to wet their feathers to try and stay under water long enough to grab the bait before it sinks out of reach.